“I think, in the short term, the market is being affected by the rumors about progress of the euro-debt crisis,” said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia.

Kwong cited a European monetary-policy decision due later in the day, along with the summit of European Union leaders Friday.

“Tonight, the European Central Bank will have a meeting, and the market expects the central bank will cut interest rates. More important is the summit tomorrow — whether there will be any concrete plans to solve the debt crisis,” said Kwong. Read ECB preview

“Also, tomorrow there will some important economic numbers from China, like the inflation number. So investors prefer to stay on the sidelines pending clear direction,” he said.

In Hong Kong, jitters about Chinese growth ahead of the Friday data — which are also scheduled to include industrial output and retail sales — hurt some shares with large exposure to the mainland China market.

Downbeat economic data also weighed on Japanese shares, as core machinery orders — seen as a leading indicator of capital spending in Japan — fell a larger-than-expected 6.9% in October. See report on Japanese economic data.

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